subtleluck

I think my right shifter needs an overhaul but i'm not sure what to replace.

I have an 2007 centaur ergopower escape levers so one press on the thumb lever = 1 up shift (6000 miles on the bike)

currently when i shift with the thumb lever it shifts all the way from largest cog to smallest cog all on one press of the lever

if i disconect from the rear deraier and gently pull on the cable while pressing the thumb lever i can hear it
clicking multiple times.

i can force it to shift one cog at a time by slightly pressing the index finger lever.

any ideas on a fix/parts that need replacing?

thanks for reading

rdtompki

Call Branford Bike (www.branfordbike.com) and describe the symptoms. They will be able to send you the parts you need. There are some very common failures, g-spring comes to mind, that should be an inexpensive fix.

subtleluck

well, i've taken these things apart and put them back together twice now, as per youtube video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_2G5NgluQM

I can't find anything wrong with them.

(these don't have g-springs, which are responsible for the "clicking" noise, which isn't the problem in this case)

basically the thumb lever has a sweet spot where the ratchet will slip, hence upshifting is rendered useless.

but upon inspection i can't figure out what part is the trouble maker... as the design is pretty subtle...

any help would me much appreciated

Kimmo 

That's a pretty good vid, IMO. Unfortunately it seems to fall down right where you need it though.

Bah...



Keep scratching your head, you should be able to figure it out. These have nothing on STI. I've overhauled a few pairs of STIs, and I still don't thoroughly understand em, but Ergo is basic.

If STI is Lego Technic, Ergo is Duplo.



I'll see if I can break it down a bit for you. The flipper and mouse ear each pivot so as to engage a ratchet when pressed; you can pretty much disregard each end of the mechanism as it's simply about actuation. The action is all in that little bit in the centre, but the vid seems to gloss over what's left in the lever body when the indexing ratchet is removed. Having only worked on gen1 Ergos, I can't tell you much about that except it seems to be the issue here.

subtleluck

the whole mechanism is very simple, it's beautiful in it's simplicity, but i can't tell what exactly is broken

here, here's a brief video of the problem
https://youtu.be/0IXA_UfdmQE

if i understand it correctly the black plastic indexing "ratchet" isn't supposed to be spinning freely like that when you hold the thumb lever in a "sweet spot"? so when you add the spring + cable it always upshifts to the smallest cog..

Kimmo 

Hm. Perhaps there's meant to be a point on the lever that engages that second ratchet, but it's worn away a bit?

It looks like the sort of thing that's meant to let one ratchet go, catching it on the other, allowing it to move one position when the lever's actuated. But that's evidently not happening...

Seems like this is wrong:
The mouse ear's actuation has become part of the guts, by the look. Simpler parts, slightly more complex principle.

Drew Eckhardt 

First and second generation ergo levers are pretty much a Campagnolo down-tube shifter except the mechanism is temporarily engaged by levers with pawls instead of one permanent lever and the two G-springs are fixed with the index cam moving instead of the other way around with three moving G-springs and fixed index.

Third generation Ultrashift levers move to fixed index cam and moving detent mechanism, but replace the G-springs which wear out with ball bearings riding atop coil springs.

While the front lever works the same, the rest of the mechanism is different in Escape as in "escapement" which is its own thing more like Shimano and SRAM which both use escapement mechanisms (that's why they only shift one cog smaller).

Mechanism replacement is probably in order. While one can buy the right mechanism for $80-$90 (one unit containing everything except brake blade, hood, and mounting hardware is Campagnolo's new sales model for shifter small parts), a brand new set of Escape levers can be had for $90 and NOS 2010 Veloce Ultrashift levers $125 imported from the UK with cables included. Where a cable set runs $50 and hoods $30 both of which are wear items you'll eventually replace the net costs are $10 and $45 respectively.

If you did have a first or second generation lever, G-springs run $10 and the carrier which seems to break every other time is a $10 part which would still make replacement attractive if it did not conflict with your sense of aesthetics.

subtleluck

the mechanism that stops the ratchet from spinning when the mouse ear is pressed is in the lever.
something in there wore out.

I cleaned and greased it, and i could get 9 clicks from the mouse ear when the shifter was fully assembled but off the bike. When the shifter on the bike though, it would skip gears as usual
(I put on an new SRAM chain on the bike which is when it started skipping gears, but i don't see how the chain can have anything to do with it)

In the interum I can make the mouse ear function by pressing it while slightly pressing the lever.

With only 6k miles on the bike which has been babied,
I find this kind of planned obscolescence appalling, how are these guys still in business?

thanks for reading.